Safety booth



A. SCHULZ SAFETY BOOTH Jan. 12, 1932.

Filed Feb. 14, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l A. SCHULZ SAFETY BOOTH Jan. 12, 1932.

Filed Feb. 14, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 hdafwlz Patented Jan. 12, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADOLPH SCHULZ, F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN SAFETY BOOTH Application filed February 14, 1930. Serial No. 428,486.

tion for the cashier in handling large sums of money. 7

One of the objectsof my invention is the provision of an improved structure of the above type which is particularly adapted for I 10 cashiers booths, although this type of booth can be used for other bank officials especial- ;ly those who are in the habit of handling large sums of money so as to prevent at- V tempted burglarizing, and wherein the cashier or other ofiicial is not in direct line with the person with whom they are transacting business, and thus reducing to a minimum the danger to the cashier or other oflicial during holdups. j

I As a general rule, attempts at holding up banks and similar places where large sums of money are accessible, cashier booths and the like are so oonstructedfthat the cashier usually faces the person-with whom they are ;transacting business,thus a burglar can easi- 7 1y attempt to obtain, byarmed force from the cashier, the contents of the booth and, it is, therefore, another object of my invention to provide a cashiers booth or similar struc- 9 ture wherein the cashier or other official is not in direct line with the party with whom they are doing business, making it practicah ly impossible to force the occupant of the booth to give up the contents thereof.

, A further object ofmy invention is the provision of a structure of the above character wherein the party desiring to transact business withthe occupant of the booth must O necessarily do so through the medium of reflecting mirrors which are so positioned that the occupants of the booth'can readily see with whom they are transacting business, and the party desiring to transact business can readily see the cashier through these reflecting mirrors, and suitable means is provided for conveying money, checks,or similar articles between the 'two parties, thus the business can be transacted with the cashier 5 or other oflicial in the background, but not in directline with the party with whom they are transacting the business.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved means whereby the cashier or other oflicial may entirely shut off any communication from the party with whom they are doing business, so that there is no possible chance of forcing the cashier or other official to give up the contents of the booth, thus reducing to a minimum the chances of burglarizing a bank or similar institution by armed force.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, the combination and ar- A rangements of parts hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claim and shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a detail vertical sectional view through the desk portion of a cashiers booth,

constructed in accordance with my invention, showlng the means of communication between the cashier or other official and the party with whom they are transacting busih ness;

Figure 2 is a full section of a booth taken at right angles to the showing in Figure 1 and illustrating the movable door for entirely cutting off communication between the cashier and the other party;

Figure 3 is a view taken at right angles to Figure 2, showing the relative arrangement of the booth;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the form shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of booth;

Figure 6 is a sectional view similar to Figurei 5, showing another form of the invention; an

Figure 7 is a horizontal section showing still another form of the invention.

There are several ways in which a cashiers booth may be constructed in accordance with my invention, particularly with regard to the arrangement of the mirrors whereby the cashier may readily view the party with V whom they are transacting business and the party with whom they are transacting business may readily view the cashier, although 7 there is a solid protecting wall between the two parties.

However, the main structure will include an enclosure 1, and this enclosure has two entrances thereto, one for the cashier and one.

for the parties who desire to transact business with the cashier. The cashiers side may be connected'up directly with a mainhal lway 2 and with a branch hallway 3,.having a communicating door 4 .whi ch may lead to any other part of the building.

Within the enclosure 1, I provide a desklike part 5. which extends transversely the entire width of the enclosure and midwaybetween the side walls ofthe enclosure,

provide a partition 8 which projects into the desk-like portion 5 a suitable. distance, as shown in Figure 4, so as to provide substantiallytwo' separate compartments within the enclosure.

--This partition wall 8 extends into the desklike' member -5, slightly beyond the long1tudinal center of the same and at one side of the partition I provide a grating 9 which :18

i preferably in that side of the enclosure where the party desiring to transactbusiness with the cashier enters and across each corner of the inside portion of the enclosure and above the desk-like member 5,1.prov1de two mirrors -10 and10wh-ich are disposed at an angle,

- as shown in Figure 4, so that the party in front of the grating 9 .can readily look into themirror lOjand through reflectors will ob- "serve the cashier in the mirror '10 and the cashier will, by looking in the mirror 10,

observe the party with whom they'are transacting business through the reflection in the mirror 10.

From .the above, it will beapparent that a party desiring to transact business with the cashier .or other official in the enclosure '1,

will enter one side of the enclosure through the door 11 and may communicate with the cashier through any suitable means for conveying the voice, and in'the present. instance, I have illustrated a connecting tube 12 which communicates between thetwo sections of the enclosure and is provided with mouth pieces 13 on the ends thereof, as illustrated in Figure 1. will be apparent that other I ineans mayibe used for the prupose oi conversation between the two parties in the enclosure, although by speaking comparatively loud, the two parties wit-hinthe enclosure 1 can talk back and forth. in'view of the fact that in front of the partition wall 8, thespace between the two sections of the enclosure is Inorder that checks, money, or other valu- 1 able papers'may be conveyed from one section of the enclosureto-the other I' provide amovable drawer 14, slidably mounted within a guideway-15 and. provided with a downwardly: projectingslotted; arm 16, a piii' l? being movablelwithin -the slot inthea'rm- 16 and carried by a fulcrumed lever 18. The lower end of lever 18 carries a pinion 19, meshing with the pivotally mounted rack 20. The rack 20 is normally retainedliii one position, as shown in Figure 1, by means of a coil spring 21. The pivot rod 22 upon which the rack 20 is inountedextends laterally and r is provided-at one end with a ha-ndlever 28, preferably located within the cashiers section of the enclosure so that the cashier or other oilicial can easily manipulate the oper ating mechanism for moving the draws-r14 from one side ofthe partition 8 to the other. It will be apparent from the foregoing that a party entering one'side of the enclosure 1 and havinga desire to cash a check, can place the checkrin the drawer 14 andthe cashier will-thenpull the drawer .towardhis, side of the enclosure,-removing the check'and place the correct amount of currency in the drawer, and then move the drawer backto the. other side-of the partition, so that the party can removexthe currency desired. Other valuable papers can be transfe'rred'to the cashier in a similar manner. v 1 Attention isdirectedto' the factthat while the space between the inner edge of the partition 8 and one wall of'the enclosure 1 is opened, this-can be ,quicklyandreadily closed by the cashier or. otheroccupant of the inside of the enclosure, should-itbefound necessary. Y 1 "q The structure illustrated, discloses a sliding door 24 which is mounted within the partition 8 and actuated by means voiiope'rating mechanism controlled from. the inside by. .the occupant of the enclosure, The operatingmechanism for the door 24 ,incl1'i'desa link 25' pivotally mounted to the inner edge of the door, as shown in Figure 2. '{Thislink is loosely connected 'toa pivotally; mounted lever 26, the upper end of the lever carrying a rack 27 which meshes with a pinion 28.so

that when the pinion '28i's'rotated in any I desired manner,-the racks? willbe-actuated,

rocking lever 26 upon its pivot and force the door 24 forwardly from-the partition 8*so as to close the space between thetwo sections is divided into upper and lower sections a and b." A -desk-29 and 29 "is placed in each section aand'b respectively; The two sections "a and bare arranged onefabove'the other,

and positioned vertically at'the-open side of each section ina single-mirror .30, whereby the parties within the two 's ectio'ns can'readv ily observe each other as the business is being transacted. Similar means of communications from the two sections of the booth will be such that the parties within both the upper and lower sections of the booth can readily observe each other during the transaction of any business.

In Figure 7, I have illustrated another form of the invention wherein the enclosure 1?) has the partition 8 extending from one corner to a point beyond the center of the booth and in the opposite corner, the desk part 5 is located with a single mirror 32, positioned transversely across one corner of the booth so that the parties on each side of the partition 8 can readily view each other during the transacting of any business.

Each section of the booth lb is also provided with an entrance door 33, whereby they can readily gain entrance to either section of the booth. It will be apparent from the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, that I have provided an improved structure of the character set forth above, wherein a cashier or other official is suitably housed so that it is practically impossible to complete a holdup due to the fact that the cashier or other official is in no danger of being injured or killed outright by a holdup person, as the partition wall not only protects them, but the cashier can readily observe all of the movements of the other party and can quickly give an alarm of an attempted holdup without placing themselves in any danger from the holdup I party.

This improved structure is comparatively simple and can be installed in banks, or similar institutions, at a very low cost, and due to the fact that it assures the safety of the cashier or other official against danger by a holdup person, it will insure confidence in the occupant of the booth so that they will readily retain the presence of mind and sound the alarm and at the same time, if necessary, can actuate the mechanism for closing the door 24, thus insuring positive safety from a holdup.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that slight changes may be made in the construction when putting the invention into practice without departing from the spirit of the same or the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A device of the class described including a booth, a desk portion at one side of the booth,

a partition arranged centrally of the booth between one wall and the desk portion, a sliding door movable in the partition and adapted to close the open space between the partition and the opposite wall with the door operating above the desk, angular mirrors disposed in opposite corners of the booth above the desk, and means forming communication between the chambers formed by the partition.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

ADOLPH SCHULZ. 

